For many years a large proportion of the female population and increasing portion of the male population have changed their appearance by selectively coloring part or all of their hair. At present, the hair dresser normally mixes the coloring solution using a developer and color mixture in a bowl type container and applies to portions of the hair with a brush similar to a normal paint brush. The mixture is quite expensive so he guesses at the minimum amount to be used. The actual amount varies from about one ounce of the mixture for highlighting to six or more ounces of the mixture for a total coloring job or longer hair. Quite generally, total coloring may actually be total coloring of a dispersed portion of the hair.
To color hair, the operator separates about a 1/8" by 3" segment, separates with a weaving comb a portion to be colored, places aluminum foil on his hand under the segment and brushes on the coloring with the other hand using a short bristle brush. The brush is reloaded from the mixer container. The present invention simplifies mixing, measuring and application of the color to the hair.
The objectives of this invention include:
1) a manual means to selectively lift a portion of hair starting near the roots; PA1 2) a switch to feed an operator determinable amount of a hair color composition to a hair coloring brush; PA1 3) a no-waste method for reproducible mixing from one to twelve ounces of materials forming differing colors of a hair coloring composition; PA1 4) tools designed for rapid and complete aqueous clean up. PA1 The special tools designed to meet these objectives include: PA1 1) rat tail color weave combs with a portion of each comb containing teeth with hooked ends. Different combs have different spacings of the hooked teeth in order to separate greater or lesser portions of each tuft of hair as the tuft is manually separated; PA1 2) a calibrated plunger operated mixing tube to allow an operator to add an exact chosen amount of a developer and a color in the tube and operate a manual plunger to mix to form a desired hair coloring composition; PA1 3) a calibrated battery operated dispensing handle holding a minimum of one ounce of hair coloring composition releasably connected with a hair coloring brush containing openings to allow feeding the hair coloring composition in an operator determinable amount through the brush head at the base of the bristles in the brush head; PA1 4) brush heads with bristles trimmed in shapes as desired by an operator; PA1 5) a stand with a battery charger to recharge the batteries in the dispensing handle; PA1 6) a tray to releasably hold color weave combs and the coloring brush, with handle attached, during intermittent usage. PA1 1) a brush head with an opening in a threaded inlet nozzle leading through a channel to the base of bristles in the brush head. Usually, the brush head is flat with either equal length bristles or bristles cut at a slant. Other sizes and shapes are visualized for special purposes; PA1 2) a transparent dispensing handle calibrated with a series of marks approximately one eighth inch apart on the longer axis, threadably, or otherwise, attached to the nozzle on the brush head. This dispensing handle preferably has a circular cross section with a guide groove to prevent rotation of a threaded plunger that moves up and down in the tube on a threaded shaft. A smooth eliptical cross section would also serve to prevent rotation as the plunger moves up and down by rotating a threaded shaft. The dispensing handle is preferably threadably closed with a filling nozzle containing a seal to rotatably seal an upper end of the threaded shaft with the upper end of the shaft being one half of a male-female connection. The filling nozzle is perferably internally threaded to close the dispensing handle and is externally threaded to allow threadably connecting to a driver cap. The driver cap, contains a battery and a D.C. motor with a shaft with one half of a male-female connector to driveably connect with the threaded central shaft when the driver cap is threaded onto the filling nozzle. Circuitry from the battery to the motor includes one or more switches. In one preferred embodiment, a switch in the driver cap drives the threaded shaft to raise the threaded plunger to the top of the dispensing handle to allow filling or cleaning and a second switch contained in or close to the brush head spring loaded open and depressable to close, to drive the threaded plunger downward to slowly eject a portion of the contents of the dispensing handle through the brush head to the base of the bristles. In a preferred embodiment, this switch is located at the very lower portion of the dispensing handle.
We recognize that the battery operated dispensing handle and brush may also be advantageously used for a homeowner to paint small areas or for a commercial artist to paint large backgrounds on canvas.
We wish only to be limited to the general spirit and purpose of this invention since one with normal skill in the mechanical arts may visualize many minor changes and still accomplish the same purpose as the tools of this invention.